Update on travels and farm activities

I have been away on travel for my job recently, just returned last night.  Guess where I went?  I wont keep you guessing this time...  The following info is from a quick Wikipedia check, along with photos that I took.

Here's Zoltar the fortune teller, made famous in the Big movie.  But this one wasn't in NJ like in the movie, it was on the Venice Pier in Venice, Los Angeles, CA.



Venice is a beachfront neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California. It is known for its canals, beaches and circus-like Ocean Front Walk, a two-and-a-half mile pedestrian-only promenade that features performers, fortune-tellers, artists, and vendors. Venice was home to some of Los Angeles' early beat poets and artists and has served as an important cultural center of the city.

Here's the intersection of Hollywood Blvd. and Vine Street.  The intersection in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, became famous in the 1920s for its concentration of radio and movie-related businesses. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is centered on the intersection.  Today, not many production facilities are located in the immediate area. One of the few remaining is the Capitol Records Tower to the north of the intersection.

The intersection is located in ZIP code 90028.













The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California. The stars are permanent public monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry, bearing the names of a mix of actors, musicians, directors, producers, musical and theatrical groups, fictional characters, and others.

Here's John Wayne's star:

And Michael Jackson's star.

 

I have more photos, but I wont bore you with all the Hollywood glitz.  It was a fun trip, but alas, now I'm back on the farm, where nothing slows down just for a second.

 

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Latest news: FOUR, yes 4, of our dark colored baby guineas have been killed by what we believe is a a Northern Goshawk.  We now have 14 baby guineas and 5 adults.  Some of the babies are as big as adults now.  The Northern Goshawk is a type of hawk, and very sadly, is listed as endangered in the state of Maryland.  Randy finally saw the hawk this morning hunting the smaller guineas.  It only kills the smaller ones and takes away their bodies, it does not eat on site.  I don't know what to do about this situation.  

 

On yet another sad note, our stray cat named Tommy hasn't been sighted in 4 days.  He used to eat at our house twice a day every day.  Now we only have Benjamin and Brindle and occasionally Jerry visit, who are all stray cats.  Tommy was my favorite outside cat, he was so sweet and calm and loved to be pet and sit in laps.  I was planning on finding a home for him before winter, as he would have made a great housecat.  

 

Here are some photos I took last June of Brindle and Tommy drinking milk and Tommy in the yard.  I miss that TommyCat.  He is tall and slender, has an Egyptian cat face.  I thought he was beautiful. 

 

 

 

Chloe the hen isn't acting right, she's been standing off by herself.  Our hens are getting older and I don't expect a few of the older ones to make it through the winter this year.  I'll have to give Chloe some extra treats tonight.

 

And to attempt to end this post on a cheerful note...This afternoon I was out with the chickens and I had a Diet Pepsi can in my hand.  All the hens begged to peck the shiny can.  And then, although I knew I shouldn't, I poured some diet Pepsi on the ground and made a small puddle of Pepsi. All the hens had to taste it, and they all ran off shaking their heads in disgust.  Except for Penny, the former house hen.  She gobbled the Diet Pepsi, she couldn't get enough of it.  She wasn't able to drink much before it was absorbed into the ground, but she loved what little taste she got.  She's such a goofball.  Maybe her former owners fed her soda, as she was a house hen, after all.  Who knows with her, I bet she lived off McDonald's scraps and Pepsi.  She lived in the city in someone's house in her former life and even still she prefers to be inside the house with me than outside with the other chickens.  Silly bird.         

 

Where were the photos from - Japan!!

Miss Debbie from Life in the Sandwich Years correctly guessed that I was in Japan from the pictures.  Congrats, Miss Debbie.  Please send me your mailing address at razzcorner@gmail.com and I'll send something from Japan to you!  I will not be able to get anything mailed next week, as I'm going to be away again on travel, but will get it mailed as soon as I can!

I'll explain each Japan photo I've posted real quick... Click on the photos to see them bigger!

This photo was taken near Sasebo, Japan, just from the side of the road.  Japan is a very beautiful country.

The below photo was at Nagasaki Peace Park, Nagasaki, Japan.  It was taken as I talked down the steps to the exact spot where the atomic bomb was dropped. 

This is from Wikipedia:

On August 9, 1945, Nagasaki was the target of the United States' second atomic bomb attack (and the second detonation of a plutonium bomb; the first was tested in central New Mexico, USA) at 11:02 a.m., when the north of the city was destroyed in less than a second, and an estimated 70,000 people were killed by the bomb codenamed "Fat Man." According to statistics found within Nagasaki Peace Park, the death toll from the atomic bombing totalled 73,884, including 2,000 Korean forced workers and eight POWs, as well as another 74,909 injured, and another several hundred thousand diseased and dying due to fallout and other illness caused by radiation. This bomb was supposed to be more destructive than "Little Boy" but was dropped in a valley, and therefore did roughly the same amount of damage as Little Boy.

In Japan there were yellow lines like this on all the sidewalks I saw.  Many people didn't know what they meant, but one person thought people were supposed to walk to the left side of the line to keep order.  People walk to the left and drive on the left in Japan. 

This was taken at Saikai National Park Kujukushima Visitor Center.

This is back in the Nagasaki Peace Park.

Here's some info about the statue:

This fountain is also in Nagasaki Peace Park.

Saw lots of bikes

I never knew what I was eating.  This was an excellent menu - it had pictures and many courses.  Often I went to places that had no pictures.  When I got many different little courses, there's a chance I'll like some of them.

The bullet train I rode on in Tokyo.

This was also at Saikai National Park Kujukushima Visitor Center.

At Nagasaki, not very far from where the bomb was dropped, there was a prison.  This is what is left of the prison.  It shows the metal bars that were bent by the force of the bomb.

This is a sign in the peace park.

Yeah, I was exposed, according to this sign.  I drank the tap water there at Nagasaki, too.  And, to be brave, I went near the sight of the radiation leak after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and subsequent radiation leak from a nuclear power site. 

Cold Soda/water/tea machines were everywhere I went in Japan.  Like on the sides of the road.  I frequented them often instead of stopping in a store for a water or a tea.  Although I never really knew what I was getting until I tasted it, as it was all written in Japanese.

I traveled to several areas of Japan and got to enjoy the wonderful culture there.  I still have lots more pictures, but this post is very long, so I'll close for now.

Happy Saturday.

Where was This Taken? - Clue #4

Where were these pictures taken?

Someone needs to guess where these photos were taken!

Notice the pigeon on the guy's knee?  This statue was huge!

Where Was This Taken Clue #3 or Brindle and Tommy

Here are clues 3 and 4 for my "Where was this picture taken?" contest.

All photos were taken in the same area/place.  Can you figure out where?

Leave me a guess in comments!

These yellow lines were everywhere on sidewalks in this place.  I've never seen them in any other place.  Maybe they are in other areas, but I didn't notice or haven't been to those places.  They were unique to me.  I will explain the lines when someone guesses where this photo was taken!  Or if you know, please tell us!

Any ideas?

Just take a guess!  Obviously it's not wintertime in this place!

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These are the latest stray cats at Razzberry Corner.  I named them Brindle and TommyCat.  They both had mouthfuls of milk in the below photo.

Happy cats.

TommyCat is a lean hunting machine.  He's a good farm cat.  Even the guineas have adjusted to the outside cats and don't scream at them (much) anymore.

Hope you all have a happy Saturday night!

Where was this photo taken, clue #2

Where was this photo taken?

I returned from a great trip this week.

You have to guess where I was based on the photos!  Leave your guess in the post comments.

This contest started yesterday, 14Jun12, and the first photo was posted then.

Here's the second clue:

This one is hard, unless you've been there.  If you've been there most likely you will remember this exact location.  It doesn't look like much in this picture, but I didn't want to give it all away just yet!

I bet someone will know based on this photo!

If not, there will be more photos in each subsequent post until someone gets it right!

And I'll even send a prize to the person who gets it right!!!

I'll explain the photos when the mystery is solved.

Where's this photo from? or Broody Guinea Hen!

Welcome to June at Razzberry Corner! Lots has been going on and I realized I haven't had time to keep you up!

Let's see...

I just returned from a trip.  A wonderful trip far away.  I had a great time! You have to guess where I was based on the pictures I post.  I'll give hints, but I wont tell you until you guess right!  I'll tell you if you're wrong!  Now those people who know me, such as my sisters and close friends, are not allowed to tell!!!!  No cheating!

Here's the first clue picture:

Ok, now back to the farm...

One of the 2 guinea girls has gone broody.  Which is bad.  Every time we allow a guinea hen to sit on a nest she gets killed overnight. We only have 2 females left.  They refuse to go into a coop and instead sit on a nest out in the woods.  We have to continually monitor where the guineas hang out so we know where they're nests are so when goes broody we can fix it.

And how do you "fix" a broody guinea hen, one may ask.

Remove her from the nest and take away the eggs.  Tonight I went out and attempted to remove her from the nest using my foot.  She didn't like that.  She screamed and attacked my foot.  I didn't dare lean down and try to pick her up for fear she'd peck my eye out!  When she screamed the flock came running to protect her. Her mate, below, attacked me, too, and made me leave.  In a guinea flock vs. human fight, who'd win?  I don't want to find out.

But I'm sneaky.  I don't fight fair.  I tricked the guineas with bread.  They love bread.  I came out with 2 slices of bread and threw it near my front door, causing the husband guinea to make that special noise which called his wife off her nest to go eat.  She went running to get her favorite treat.  I have no idea why they like bread.  And, weirdly enough, they like white bread better than wheat bread.  Isn't that odd?  I pay attention to their strange likings.  But no, really, they aren't spoiled or anything...

And so when Girl Guinea was eating I ran to the nest and grabbed up the eggs.  I felt so bad.  She really wanted to be a mommy guinea.  But I'd rather she lived through the week.

And alas, when she returned in less than 5 minutes from her meal her nest was empty.  She screamed and screamed when she found the empty nest.  All the other guineas came running to see what was wrong.  I felt so bad.  But I want her alive.  Alive with a broken heart for the moment is better than suffering and killed later tonight.  Here's a photo of her empty nest.

She eventually left the nest and went to roost with the other guineas in silent misery.  Mission accomplished, the guinea hen will live through the week.  Hopefully.  And I feel like a mean guinea mama.

Here's some quick chicken pics to lighten your spirits.  Who doesn't love chicken pics?

Zoner is a bazaar looking hen...

Lucy will always be my favorite bird.

Leggy has no tail feathers.  What's up with that?  Maybe it's the new look for roosters for this summer?

Freckles is still alive.  She's the oldest hen, she'll probably outlive everyone.  She hasn't laid an egg in years, but she always sits as if she is laying.

So did you guess where I was?  Next post will have another photo, maybe two.